Clements' widow: We pray to forgive killer

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She and her two daughters don't want Clements remembered for his killing

The family says they are "praying" for the grace to forgive

The wife of slain Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements told CNN Thursday that she refuses to be angry over the news that the parolee believed to have killed her husband was released from prison four years early because of a clerical error.

Court officials admitted this week that an error allowed 28-year-old Evan Ebel -- the man authorities have linked to Clements' killing last month -- to be released in January.

"Much like the incident itself, I could become enraged. For the rest of my days, I could be angry that someone made a mistake and didn't capture what a judge conveyed," Lisa Clements told CNN's Anderson Cooper in her first interview since the March 19 shooting.

"But it won't bring Tom back, and then my life is in that and my ability to be a good mother to my children. So I choose not to make it a focus."

The error dates back to 2008 when Ebel pleaded guilty to punching a prison guard in the face while serving an eight-year sentence for armed robbery and menacing. A judge ordered him to serve another four years consecutively, but a court clerk entered the sentence as concurrent, according to documents and court officials.

"I see him as my dad. He was my hero. He intervened in my life so many times, and he really changed my path. I just want people to know that, that he's my dad," Sarah Clements said.

His daughter, Rachel, said: "I would like people to see how he lived his life, and that is so much more important than how he died. He lived his life with such passion and compassion for other people."

Clements and his wife met at age 19 while both were studying sociology.

Lisa Clements said she was drawn to her husband because of his compassion, his desire to help people.

"At a very early age, that was very interesting to me," she said.

The family told CNN that they are trying to move beyond the actions that led to Clements' killing.